I am Elias Register 3rd great granddaughter. My Great-grandparents were Willie and Lola Etheridge. I would absolutly love if I could please get a copy of those old pictures from you and see where Ben Crusoe is “relaxing” at. If you would please e-mail me at tracyleahbenton@gmail.com
Thank you!!

As for the name change from Crusoe Island to Riverview, here’s the story from my Grandfather. The Columbus County Commissioners changed the name in the early sixties. He said the people of Crusoe didn’t know about the change until after it had happened, and they were very upset about it. When they kicked up a dust about it, they were told that Crusoe wasn’t a recognized, or “official” name “on the record books” and that they (County Commissioners) had changed the name of the community so as to have county funds made available to keep the road, bridges, and road shoulder serviced.
I can for a fact tell you that the people of Crusoe Island didn’t take the news well. In fact, I have personally seen fights break out over someone calling Crusoe Island by the blasphemous name Riverview while in the presence of a Crusoe resident….and to that, I say good.

Addressing the French connection, here is what I know, or rather… believe I know. My Grandmother was the Granddaughter of Elias and Mary Ann Register, and when asked about how Crusoe got it’s name, she told me about Ben Crusoe and took me to the spot where he was buried. Every time I pass his grave I think about the day Grandma took me there and told me the story.
I have asked many people, many old people, about the Sasser and Formy-Duval name as to if anyone by that name ever lived in Crusoe. Not a single person could remember those names being used anywhere except the Old Dock community. My Great Grandfather Rufus Register was over 100 years old during the early sixties, and he didn’t remember any Sassers or Formy-Duval families living anywhere except Old Dock. Just saying.

Lastly, as a young man I had be curious as to why the earliest people of Crusoe were listed as being born in Brunswick county. Years later I posed the question to Mr. Johnny McNeill and he told me that the answer was simple. Crusoe Island had once been a part of Brunswick County. The county line used to be defined by the Waccamaw River instead of Juniper Creek as it is today. He showed me a copy of the request from the Crusoe Island Community to be “annexed” into Columbus County. The reason given on the document was simple. As a community of Brunswick County, the Crusoe Island residents had to make their way to Southport, the county seat, to register births and deaths, pay taxes, and any other bussiness that needed attention. This would have been impossible for years on end as the trip was almost entirely through swamps. There were no roads to or from Crusoe at the time. The people petitioned to be moved into Columbus County and the county line was moved from the Waccamaw River to the Juniper Creek line as it appears today.
This allowed the Crusoe residents to travel up the Waccamaw River by boat to the village of Flemington (known today as the town of Lake Waccamaw) and travel by road to Whiteville, the county seat of Columbus County. This may also explain why Ben Crusoe’s name didn’t appear on any records. Maybe it just wasn’t worth the effort to travel weeks through swamps filled with snakes and mosquitoes to sign a book in Southport. Or, maybe he just didn’t want to be found? Anyway, Laspeyre Long was indeed born in Brunswick County… but he didn’t move to Crusoe Island. Crusoe Island just moved to Columbus County.

All this reflection has me waxing a bit nostalgic, I think I might just take a walk and say “hi” to Ben Crusoe…..it is such a lovely day here on Crusoe Island.